For my class discussion, I chose to analyze NPR’s 50 Great Voices podcast, specifically the episode Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: The Voice of Pakistan.
This specific podcast profiles Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, a Pakistani singer who performed qawwali, a form of Sufi devotional music. One of the dominant purposes of NPR’s 50 Great Voices series is to provide its listeners with the means to discover new singers, especially singers from abroad. Bilal Qureshi, who bought his first Ali Khan album in Islamabad, Pakistan at the age of eight, hosts this episode. It is arranged by including Ali Kahn’s biographical information, clips of his music, interviews with fans and musicians who collaborated with him, and Qureshi’s personal experience with the music.
Though some of the voices that have already been featured in the series come from iconic American names (Iggy Pop, Ella Fitzgerald) the majority of the singers presented are unfamiliar to most Americans. It seems that Ali Khan is almost solely known to Americans for being featured in the film Dead Man Walking. As such, the intended audience of this podcast is listeners willing to try new music.
The podcast’s hosting website contains a photo of Ali Khan, four of his songs, and links to his full NPR archive, all helping the audience better familiarize themselves with the musician. The podcast is also paraphrased on this site in manuscript.
I found that, overall, reading the manuscript along with the podcast helped me focus on what I was hearing. However, because the podcast was paraphrased and not directly quoted, I’d sometimes get a little confused about what I should be reading. Do you think that including a text version of a podcast is a good idea? Does it help you listen to the podcast or would you rather ignore it?
50 Great Voices
I enjoyed this podcast beacuse of its subject matter, but I usually don't like to listen to NPR podcasts. In our class discussion on Monday we discussed that in todays culture we are much more aesthetically entertained. Strictly audio tracks are hard for most people to listen to, especially me. Even if I am determined to absorb as much as I can from a podcast and I am doing nothing else, my mind wanders inevitably. In response to your question, I think that textual cues and summaries are extremley effective for people that are not perhaps, as auditory as others. The text version may even help people to stick it out and finish the podcast as opposed to just giving up when they missed something that was said, they can simply look at the text version and get a better understanding of the podacst.
50 Voices
I really enjoyed this podcast because it covered a lot of subject material in a short amount of time. It kept it concise, but included different voices and remained very focused. I don't mind the manuscript. I don't think it is a good idea, however, to read it while you go unless you lose track of your listening. I feel that including a reading aid is personal choice. Some people are audio learners and prefer listening; others, like myself, just enjoy it. It isn't a bad thing to not include one, given the popularity of podcasts, but having a manuscript to read before or after listening also gives the individual more time to process the information.
Podcast Response
I like podcasts that have text that correspond with the podcast. It isn't always necessary, but it can be helpful for podcast listeners to help them follow along or look back at something that they missed earlier. Another good thing about scripts of the podcasts is that you can go to the website and read them if you can't listen to a podcast at that moment.
50 Great Voices
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I really enjoyed this Podcast because although it was only 6 minutes long, I felt like I learned a lot of information about a person who I had previously never heard of. I felt like the guests gave very good insight into the kind of person that Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was and also the legacy that he has left behind. I think that including a text version of the Podcast is a good idea because it can give people a taste of what the Podcast is going to be about without having to read or listen to the whole thing. Like someone mentioned earlier, it also gives everyone a chance to learn about the NPR episode without actually having to listen to it which can be very helpful at times.
Nice
Awesome podcast, very informative and interesting. In regards to the text, I do not feel the text is needed but it doesn't hurt to have, honestly I listen to podcast while doing other activities, and reading text on a monitor pertaining what I am trying to listen to the same subject may be more focused. I do think the audio should match the information in the text though.
50 Great Voices
I think that it definitely doesn't hurt to have a transcript included with the audio. It can give people something to do while listening, and if they miss something or misunderstand something they can look it up. It's especially helpful if the podcast has guests that have thick accents and can be hard to understand on the audio.
I loved this podcast and
I loved this podcast and found it very interesting. I don't, however, think a text version is necessary and also found it confusing that it was paraphrased.